Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Junior Goalkeeper Earns Academic All-America Honors

“Hey, Wilber, you going to the library tonight?”

That is the sort of friendly jab that junior Georgetown goalkeeper Mark Wilber said he hears a lot after men’s soccer practices.

“I’m sort of the nerd of the team,” he says. “I get a little smack for it sometimes, but it’s all in good fun.”

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound net minder’s “nerd” status was confirmed this year when he was named to the ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America Second Team in November. The Tijeras, N.M., native became the first player in the history of the men’s soccer program to ever earn Academic All-America honors.

“It was cool,” Wilber said of receiving the accolade. “It felt good because I spend a lot of time on academics, and sometimes it’s kind of frustrating because there’s things I’d rather be doing like hanging out, just chilling. But it’s good to know that the work paid off.”

Indeed it did, but as Wilber acknowledged, maintaining his 3.86 GPA as a biology major at Georgetown is not all fun and games.

“On the bus people will be watching movies, and I’ll be going through my books. I’ll say [to them], `I’ve got a test on Monday, sorry man. It’s biology, I’ve got to know this stuff.'”

The fact that only four of the 33 players recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as Academic All-Americans are biology majors is proof that Wilber is a rare student-athlete.

He became eligible for the national award after earning First Team District II honors, which required that Wilber be a starter or key reserve of at least sophomore standing with a minimum GPA of 3.30. His consideration for District II recognition also required a nomination from the sports information department.

According to the criteria described above, it is not only inside the classroom that Wilber earned his award. He had to excel on the field, as well, and he did so with zeal for the 2009 Hoyas.

The junior started 11 games last fall and recorded five clean sheets on the way to a winning 5-4-1 record, finishing with 36 saves and a stellar 1.02 goals against per game average. Wilber is a two-time Big East Academic All-Star and was named Big East Goalkeeper of the Week after posting back-to-back shutouts that landed the Hoyas in the national rankings earlier in the fall. In addition, he already ranks eighth on the all-time Georgetown shutouts list with seven career goose eggs to his name.

But when does a star athlete like Mark Wilber find time to study?

“It’s interesting during the season. It’s almost a little easier [then] because a lot of times we’re traveling so during the down time it’s a lot easier to study,” he says. “In the fall, it’s not that difficult.”

Well, in that case, it must be a piece of cake for this Einstein after the season ends. Or so one might think.

“Actually, in the spring I feel like it’s a little more difficult because we have our practices during the week, but the weekends are ours. So we can go out and hang out with friends and stuff. It’s a lot harder then to make myself study. I don’t have that mandatory time [when I have to],” Wilber says.

Time management can be a struggle, even for the best of us. But when Wilber does get around to studying, his favorite spot to hit the books is the first floor of Lauinger Library.

“Blommer is pretty good too – the science library – because not a lot of people go there,” he says. “But Lau is closest to [Village A] where I live.”

The goalkeeper’s passion for all things biology began back home in New Mexico, where his parents are both biologists.

“Being from New Mexico, it’s not as much [an urban setting], so if you’re going to have fun, you’re going to have fun outside – hiking and catching critters and stuff. That’s kind of how it started I think.”

For now, Wilber’s job is catching soccer balls for the Hoyas and keeping up that all-star GPA. As for his post-bachelor’s degree life, the prospective herpetologist (a studier of amphibians and reptiles, in case you were unaware) hopes to attend graduate school, but not right away.

What about a career in Major League Soccer?

“If we were talking English Premiership, things might be different,” he says.

The stage right now, however, is the Big East conference, and Wilber is focused on competing for the 2010 starting job. Classmate and fellow goalkeeper Matthew Brutto shared playing time with Wilber last year, and after an impressive spring, sophomore Erik Garciamendez will look to challenge both his mentors for the top spot on the depth chart.

“‘Mendez had an amazing spring. Brutto was out most of the spring, and I was out for part of the spring [with injuries],” Wilber said. “We all came back at the end, and it’s definitely going to be a three-way race next semester.”

But regardless of whether he is on the bench or between the pipes on a given gameday next season, if you need to find Mark Wilber, Lau will always be your best bet.”

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